Welcome Oasis

This morning we attended a nature walk at parkland in North Stoneham near Eastleigh. My husband and a friend had been invited to lead it (on behalf of the RSPB), by the local community development officer. Had it not been arranged weeks ago, we wouldn't  have chosen  such a hot day! (It was about 30C when we finished at 11.30 am.)
However, about ten hardy souls  turned up and  we enjoyed exploring what proved an interesting area. North Stoneham Park was owned by the Fleming family from the 16th century. Later, in the 18th century, part of it, covering some  400acres, called Avenue Park, was redesigned by Lancelot "Capability " Brown.  Some of the features such as an avenue of lime trees, fine  oaks, and an extensive hedgerow  remain and now are protected and  managed for wildlife by Eastleigh BC. We walked through  Avenue Park and then  to a new housing  development on its edge, where the builders are including new features for wildlife such as the pond in my photo. Of course, it is not looking at its best now but there were lots of  dragonflies and damsel flies and a pair of  Grey Wagtails flitting about  over the water, and a  few Canada geese resting in the shade. I also spotted a couple of Ring Necked Parakeets in one of the old oak trees. It is the nearest I have seen these incomers to my home in Winchester. They are  very attractive to  look at, but some fear  there is a risk they may out-compete our native birds for food and nesting sites. 
While not seeing a great many birds today, we agreed it would be  good to return in the  spring, especially  for a dawn chorus walk.   

This afternoon, after a quick lunch back  home, I returned to  Eastleigh with  an old friend, L,  so she could collect her new hearing aids. L had attended the first visit on her own. I sensed the  audiologist was relieved she  was  accompanied to day, as L does have some problems with her memory. Apparently, the  audiologist had recommended  getting recharging aids but L had ordered them with batteries (as she is used to them with her old aids !) but the new hearing aids had smaller batteries which were too fiddly for  her to insert. Luckily the aids can be  swapped at no extra charge for the recharging type, but it means another visit for us in a few weeks' time! 

Happily, my husband had prepared  a nice dinner which  we ate outdoors on the patio listening to Elgar's Cello concerto played at tonight's Prom concert.